All Fun and Games Until You Start Breaking Legs
by greeny74
Summary: The Carnival has come to Vale for one night only! Nora insists that Team JNPR goes and enjoys the festivities. What follows is a night of action, hilarity, and maybe even a little romance... Rated T for language, but nothing too horrible!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Welcome to my first attempt at a longer RWBY fanfic! I really appreciate the response from my first one shot, "A Spicy Meatball", and decided to take some of the suggestions that I continue writing to heart. This will be a JNPR based fanfic, so don't except the other teams to join in just yet (if I can find a way to work them in, I will try). The goal here is for Arkos to bloom, so that will be the focus, but you might get some Renora in there as well. So I'm going to try to make this a few chapters long, maybe like 5-6 (more if I get extremely inspired), and try to update at least once a week. So read, enjoy, review me, tell me I suck, tell me I'm great, whatever strikes your fancy. If you like how the story is going, or you have some ideas on how you want it to progress, let me know and I'll do my best! Stay classy, gents!**

It was shaping up to be a beautiful spring afternoon on the grounds of Beacon Academy. All day the sky had been spotless blue, and now as the sun began to lower towards the Emerald Forest, it seemed even more stunning, birds zipping through the air on a slight breeze. A truly perfect day.

_If only I didn't have to see it through a window,_ thought Jaune Arc, as he sat in class, wistfully gazing out at the gorgeous day.

It didn't matter that he wasn't paying attention to the lecture, as hardly anyone else was either. At this point at their studies at Beacon, when Professor Port started one of his tales of glorious Grimm conquest, the whole class tended to tune him out.

"…once the trap was set, I knew the Ursa would come right to me!" Port continued to drone on. "My father wouldn't have been pleased to discover that I was using his prized cow as bait, but as long as I pulled Edgar out of the hole before my prey could attack, he would be none the wiser! So I waited for my target to approach, and then… dum dah blah bluh blah…"

Jaune groaned as he looked at the clock. Luckily, there was only five minutes left in class. Five minutes, and then he would be free from the tyranny of classes for the weekend. He glanced over at his teammates, all in varying degrees of focus. Pyrrha, his partner, was trying to pay attention to Port's lecture, but even she wasn't immune to the boredom-inducing droning, as she turned to Jaune and gave him a weary smile. Ren, who normally wasn't the one to let his mind wander during class, was clearly as ready to leave as Jaune was.

Nora, however, was in a completely different state.

She was practically bouncing in her seat, twitching and jerking, anxious to leave. "Nora, relax," Ren whispered to his partner.

"But class is almost over!" Nora whisper-yelled back. "Class is over in 24 seconds, and then it's the weekend! And then we can go do fun stuff! Oh, just wait and see what we're gonna do this weekend, Ren, it's gonna be so much fun!"

Jaune smiled. _Well, it looks like Ren and Nora have plans for the weekend,_ he thought to himself. _As for me, well…_

He glanced back at Pyrrha. She was focused on Port again, which allowed Jaune to stare at her for a bit. Her red hair was in her usual ponytail, falling in a wave down her back. Her Amazon physique made her look like a goddess, which, for all intents and purposes, she might as well have been. _She really is stunning,_ Jaune thought. _If only I could tell if she feels the same way about me that I do about her..._

Jaune's feelings for Pyrrha had been brewing for a while. Ever since initiation, in fact. When they made eye contact in the Emerald Forest, he felt a certain bond form with the red-haired warrior. At first it started as a bond of friendship, but as the days went on, and Jaune and Pyrrha started to train together, his feelings grew from friendship to something more. _She must like me back, right? I mean, she keeps training with me, so she obviously wants me around. Maybe all she's waiting on is for me to make the first-_

The bell finally rang, signaling the end of class. Jaune stood and stretched. _Finally,_ he thought. _It's finally the-_

"WWWEEEEEEKKKEEENNNDDD!" Nora cried, as she shot out of the classroom.

* * *

><p>Nora was waiting for her teammates when they finally caught up to her back at their dorm room.<p>

"What took you guys so long? Don't you know it's the weekend?! Now I can tell you what we we're gonna do tonight!"

Jaune looked confused. "Wait, what _we're_ gonna do? I thought you and Ren had plans?"

Nora bounded towards her team leader. "No silly, I want ALL of us to go to THIS!" She produced a folded poster from her pocket and handed it to Jaune.

He unfolded it and read aloud, **"Join us for the 1st Annual Vale Carnival! Come enjoy countless rides, snacks and entertainment! ONE NIGHT ONLY!"**

"I KNOW, RIGHT?!" Nora shouted with glee. "That's why we have to go tonight! So we can do everything there before it all ends!"

"That sounds like fun!" Pyrrha said with a smile. "I'm up for it if everybody else is! Jaune?"

Jaune was honestly just planning to hang around Beacon for the weekend. Dust knew he had tons of homework to catch up on. But the thought of spending the evening at the carnival actually perked Jaune up. "Sure! Why not!"

_And,_ Jaune thought to himself, _maybe I can try to build on my relationship with Pyrrha._ He turned to Nora. "So, when do we leave?"

Nora was already halfway out the door. "The next airship leaves in 30 minutes! Hurry and get changed! LET'S GO!"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Well, I'm back with a new chapter! It didn't turn out as long as I had hoped, but I had found that setting up the relationships was a bit difficult. Once I got that fleshed out, it became easier to write. So I do apologize if this update seems a little light, but I think I've set it up sufficiently enough to make the next chapter come more smoothly. Setting up the Arkos was particularly tough at first, but I think I found a good way to make it bloom, and now hopefully the ship will sail (and write) itself. Also, I think I have a way to get Ren and Nora together (yes, "together-together") so I'm officially making them a pairing in this story. As always, read, review, tell me I'm awful, tell me I'm awesome, suggest plot points, anything you want! Enjoy, and stay awesome!**

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><p>29 minutes and 55 seconds later, all four members of Team JNPR took their seats aboard the outbound shuttle. As the shuttle spun and jetted towards Vale, Jaune turned away from the window to try to quell his ever-present motion sickness. <em>Come on, Jaune, you don't want to throw up before we get there. It'll be even harder to try to talk to Pyrrha with your breath smelling like vomit.<em> Jaune sighed and looked towards the crimson-haired warrior. With as little time as they had to change out of their school uniforms, Pyrrha still managed to put together an outfit that made her look as beautiful as ever. She was wearing a maroon blouse that showed off her athletic figure well and matched perfectly with her bronze-colored skirt. Her red hair was in its normal ponytail, accented by her bronze circlet, which also brought attention to her flawless emerald eyes. Pyrrha didn't seem to notice Jaune staring, instead talking to Nora, who was excitedly chattering away.

"…and I bet there will be a midway there too! I wonder how many stuffed animals I can win by playing the games. Oh I'm soooo excited!" the orange-haired Valkyrie chirped, as Pyrrha listened on with a genuine, if slightly exasperated smile.

Ren, watching the whole situation with calm magenta eyes, nudged Jaune in the shoulder. "Everything okay there, Jaune?"

Jaune looked to his teammate. "Oh, yeah, everything's fine. Just thinking…about…stuff…"

"Stuff like Pyrrha?" Ren asked with a slight smile.

Jaune jumped a little in surprise at Ren's statement. "What? Ah, I mean, no! No, of course not! Why would you think…?" Jaune trailed off when he saw Ren give him a look of knowing. "Okay, yes, maybe about her."

Ren leaned back, smile still on his face. "Yeah, I figured. It was kind of obvious."

Jaune looked around to see if maybe Pyrrha had caught wind of the conversation. While the shuttle was small, there were enough students aboard the craft sitting in between Jaune and Pyrrha to separate the two conversations. Sighing relief, he turned back to Ren. "It's just that…I don't know…?

Ren chuckled. "Jaune, why don't you just tell her how you feel? It's clear you like her, and the fact that she keeps training with you and wants you to succeed, I'm willing to wager that she likes you too. If she was interested in someone else, she would have moved on by now. But she appears to want to stick by you. Just come out and say it. The worst that could happen is that she just wants to be friends, and that wouldn't really change your current situation, would it?"

Ren had a point. It was time to find out how far this relationship could go. "Yeah, that sounds good!" Jaune said. "And tonight might be the perfect night to tell her!"

Ren smiled. "I'll even help you out. When we get to the carnival, I'll take Nora with me to give you two the chance to be alone."

Jaune looked surprised. "Really? You'd be willing to spend the evening in an excitement and sugar-drenched environment with Nora, just to help me progress with Pyrrha? You're willing to take that bullet? Thanks, Ren!"

"No problem," replied Ren. _Besides,_ he thought to himself with a smile, _it's not taking a bullet if you don't mind getting shot…_

* * *

><p>"So, has he gotten the hint yet?<p>

"Huh?" Pyrrha was drawn out of her stupor by Nora's sudden question. While Nora had been chattering nonstop since the shuttle left Beacon, Pyrrha had sort of zoned out amid discussions of cotton candy and Whack-A-Grimm. "What do you mean, Nora?"

"Oh come on, Pyrrha!" Nora was all serious now. "You've been trying to clue in a certain blonde for weeks now. So, I ask again: Has he gotten the hint?"

Pyrrha blushed. Of course, Nora was right. She had been trying to get Jaune's attention for a while now. Pyrrha had been attracted to the blonde knight ever since she first saw him in Beacon's amphitheater. She even pulled some strings during initiation to get paired with Jaune so she could get to know him better. Well, actually she literally pinned the poor boy to a tree, but little details like that didn't matter. But after weeks of time together, either studying, training or leisure time with team RWBY, Pyrrha felt that the subtle hints she had been leaving about her affection for Jaune weren't getting through to him. Either the boy was too stubborn to get the hint, he was too shy to make the first move, or he simply wasn't interested. "No, unfortunately." She finally replied, slightly defeated.

Nora turned towards her teammate. "Pyrrha, I've seen the way he looks at you. He definitely likes you! He's probably just nervous. You know how boys can be!"

"Yeah," Pyrrha murmured. "But how do I show him that I want to be with him?"

Nora giggled. "You could…oh, I don't know…just kiss him…"

Pyrrha gasped. "Nora! I can't just kiss him!"

"Why not? It'll certainly get his attention! All I'm saying is maybe you need to be a little more…obvious with you feelings."

"Because…what if he doesn't like me back?" Pyrrha asked. What If he's still trying for Weiss, or someone else?"

Nora snorted. "Oh, he gave up on Weiss weeks ago. Jaune even told me himself! He wouldn't tell me everything, but he said that he realized that Weiss wasn't the right person for him, and that there was someone else that he liked, but he didn't know how to tell her…"

Pyrrha was stunned. _Is he referring to me? Is he really just trying to figure out how to approach me? I can work with that. Maybe Nora is right. Maybe I have to make the first move… _"So, you're saying I should just straight up ask him out?"

Nora sighed. "What I'm saying, Pyrrha, is that if you truly care for Jaune, then you should tell him exactly that. If he rejects you, is it really the worst thing in the world? Although, I'm telling you, he _really_ likes you back."

Pyrrha smiled. "Okay, Nora, I'll give it a shot."

"Great!" Nora chirped. "When we get to the carnival, I'll drag Ren off with me, so you can go do your thing!"

"Thanks!" Pyrrha said. "Are you sure Ren will be okay with that?"

"He won't have a choice!" Nora said with a slight smirk. "Besides, I think it's time for us to move our relationship status up from 'together' to 'together-together'…"

"Attention passengers!" the speaker aboard the shuttle came to life. "Please remain in your seats. We are about to land at the Vale Air Field. We hope you enjoyed the flight!"

"OHHH WE'RE HERE!" Nora squealed. "TIME TO GO HAVE FUN!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there! Chapter 3 has arrived! I got particularly inspired and managed to punch this chapter out fairly quickly. This chapter introduces the bad guys of the story. I wanted to use a villain that was canon, but not so overpowering that it would take over the story. So I thought of Junior's men. They must be pretty dissatisfied, working for guys like Torchwick and Junior as cannon fodder and not getting paid a dime! The particular cronies in this story are named/modeled after a certain group of guys who like to _achieve _things (hehe). And there's a few more RT Easter eggs scattered here and there, so if you find them, gold star for you! As always, read, review, tell me I'm a modern day Shakespeare, tell me you can shit better stories, voice you opinions, and suggest anything! I really appreciate all the follows and favorites I'm getting as a new writer. Each person who likes my work is another reason to keep going. So I hope you enjoy it!**

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><p>The room was small and dusty. But for a building that had been abandoned on the outskirts of Vale for years, it was still surprisingly in good shape. Since the "minor" accident in which an entire shipping crate of Schnee Dust was inadvertently triggered, leveling half the buildings in what was once a bustling business district, this section of Vale was abandoned for more favorable land in the main city. The large empty space on the fringes of the city made it an ideal place to set up a sprawling traveling carnival.<p>

There were also a few derelict buildings still standing, some just empty shells, some still relatively intact. No one had bothered to try and salvage any parts of these structures.

Which made it a perfect place for a secret meeting.

This particular room had one occupant, sitting at a small table. He was well dressed in a black suit, with a pair of red sunglasses in the front pocket. He fiddled with the small red hatchet strapped to his belt. He looked up as the door opened, and two more men in identical suits entered, one carrying a black duffel bag.

"Only two of you?" the first man spoke. "I was hoping for more."

"I'm sorry, Michael, but Geoff and Ryan wouldn't abandon their posts." The man with the duffel responded, his accent slightly warping his words. "It seems that they are fine with being Junior's cronies without getting paid."

Michael growled. "See, that's why they're idiots! Don't they see that if they stick around, not only will they not get any cash, but they will also probably die? Remember Kerry and Kdin? They never came back from that job with that Torchwick idiot. Junior was the one who sent them to that red-haired bastard, and instead of getting a huge score, they get trounced by some little girl a red cape!"

The other two men nodded to each other. They had both heard about the little freak girl who broke up the Dust store robbery. Which was why there were here now.

"And don't forget what that blonde freak did to Junior's club!" the third man said, fidgeting with his glasses. "Girl went all supercharged and wrecked the place! And where is Junior getting the money to repair all the damage? FROM OUR CUT!"

"Damn right, Ray!" Michael crowed. "So that bearded jackass can go shove it! It's time for us to get our own score! Luckily, I have a perfect plan." He pulled out a folded poster out of his pocket and showed it to the other two men. "In case you didn't notice on your way in, there's a carnival in Vale tonight, and it's right in this part of town. Lots of people having fun and enjoying themselves…and spending boatloads of Lien."

The other two men looked at each other. "We're going to rob a carnival?" the accented one asked.

"YES, Gavin, we're going to rob a carnival!" Michael shot back at his companion. "Every couple of hours or so, the carnival owners go around to the booths and games and collect the Lien they have earned, and they take it all to a storeroom where they count it and bind it. All we have to do is take that room and we'll make out like bandits!"

Ray and Gavin shared a glance and nodded their heads in agreement. "It sounds good, Michael." Ray said. "So what's the plan?"

"First things first," Michael replied, turning to Gavin. "Did you bring the supplies?"

"Sure did, boi!" Gavin said excitedly, as he set the duffel onto the table and opened it. "Masks, radios, charges for the outer wall, bags for the Lien, and rifles, just like you asked!"

Michael picked up one of the masks. "Grimm masks? A little dark, don't you think?"

"Exactly!" Gavin said. "Plus, the White Fang wear those masks, so if anyone sees us, they will think this is a White Fang attack, throwing them off our trail!"

"Smart thinking, boi!" Michael said, giving Gavin a fist bump. "Okay, so here's the plan." He pulled out a rough sketch of the carnival layout. "We're gonna wait until the carnival is in full swing, so the employees are kept busy. Then, we're gonna go to this point of the outer wall, here." He marked a section of wall on the map. That's where the money storeroom is. It's butted up right against the wall, so we're gonna blow this section of wall down, giving us an easy entrance to the store room. We'll eliminate any guards inside, grab the Lien, and then storm out through the carnival, creating as much havoc as possible. We slip out in the confusion, take the getaway car to the docks, and take a boat I have there out to Patch, where we will split the take and go our separate ways."

Gavin and Ray grinned. "Sounds like a plan, mate!" Gavin said. "But what if there is more than just security at this place? Like maybe police, or worse, Huntsmen?"

"We'll be fine! There's an infestation of Grimm on the east borders of Vale, attacking the wall. Not enough to get through, but the police scanners said that all available police and Huntsmen are asked to help deal with the attack. This carnival is ripe for the taking!"

"But what about Beacon students?" Ray asked. "I mean, it is the weekend. How do we know that there are no students with freakish weapons spending the night at this place?"

"There won't be!" Michael yelled, a little impatient. "Besides, even if there are, do you really think that the carnival staff will just let a bunch of teenager warriors-in-training into a public place with their weapons?"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we had to leave our weapons back at Beacon," Jaune said as all four members of JNPR left the ticket booth at the carnival entrance. "What if this place is assaulted by Grimm? I mean, look at the part of town we are in!"<p>

When Jaune agreed to go to the carnival, he had expected it to be in a more secure part of Vale, not in the deserted business district that was abandoned years ago. The region was on the outskirts of Vale and had more open space than the center of the city, and it made Jaune feel exposed.

Pyrrha looked to her team leader. "I'm sure it will be fine. There is a wall all around the perimeter of the carnival, and there is armed security as well. And, if there is a Grimm attack, we can use our Auras to protect us and others. We can handle it."

Jaune started to relax. "Yeah, you're right Pyrrha. All right! So, now that we're here, what should we do first?"

Nora was already dragging Ren towards the midway. "Ren and I are going this way!" she exclaimed. "Somewhere out there, there is a whole bunch of stuffed animals with my name on them! And I intend to win them all! TIME TO PLAY THE GAMES, REN!"

As Nora dragged the green-clad boy behind her, he had just enough time to throw Jaune a discreet wink that said, _"Good luck"_. Neither Jaune nor Ren noticed that Nora shot Pyrrha the same covert wink.

* * *

><p>Jaune watched as Nora and Ren moved towards the midway. He turned to his partner. Pyrrha looked at him expectantly with her flawless green eyes. "Well," Jaune led off, suddenly a lot more nervous, "what do you want to do?"<p>

Pyrrha also seemed nervous, maybe the first time Jaune had ever seen her look even remotely uncomfortable. "Perhaps we should walk around a little bit, see what this place has to offer." She answered.

Jaune swallowed. "Okay, that sounds good," he replied, as he and Pyrrha started to walk towards the show booths, marketing a variety of goods ranging from clothing to weapons and armor to foreign food and spices. Some tents appeared to house merchandise from as far away as Atlas. Jaune and Pyrrha walked together, gazing at the sights and sounds around them. Pyrrha walked with her hand at her side, and Jaune thought for a moment that she meant for him to grab it. He shook that thought from is mind, deciding to start with conversation first.

"So, Pyrrha, how are things going in class?" Jaune asked, immediately regretting the question. _That's your leadoff question, you freaking idiot?_

Pyrrha looked at Jaune, a little smirk of humor on her face. "Well, classes are going fine, Jaune. But you should already know that, since we, you know, take them together."

Jaune felt like an idiot. _Come on, think! You can make better conversation than that! _"W-well that's good to hear!" he replied, nervousness creeping into a voice a little bit. "So, how about outside of classes? Have you done anything fun recently?"

Pyrrha smiled. "Well, apart from training for the Vytal tournament and studying for classes, no, I'm afraid this has been my first social outing in a long time." Pyrrha could now see the nervousness radiating off the blonde knight. _Well, if he's this nervous talking to me, it must mean that he like me right? _"What about you, Jaune, Anything new in your life?"

Jaune tried to slow his heart, which was beating fast with emotion. "Well, not really. Just training with you, and going to class…with you…and hanging out with Team RWBY….and you…"

Pyrrha started to feel giddy. _So there are feelings there!_ "Is there anyone special in your life right now? I know that you had an attraction to Weiss a little while ago…?

Jaune was a bit surprised with Pyrrha's forwardness. "Uh…no…no…I gave up on that a while ago. She's not interested in me. Like, at all." He looked around, trying to find something to distract himself from the question both of them were waiting to ask. He spotted something a little further down the path. "Oh hey, there's a Ferris Wheel! You wanna go for a ride?"

Pyrrha looked slightly dejected. "S-sure, Jaune, that sounds fun," she replied, as they made their way towards the tall wheel of metal.

* * *

><p>"Nora, slow down!" Ren said, trying to keep up with the bouncing pink ball of energy that was his partner.<p>

"OH, but look at all the games, Ren! They have paintball targets, and Whack-A-Grimm, and- OOOOOHHH!" Nora screeched as she took off towards a booth off to the side.

Ren smiled. Most people wouldn't want to spend one hour with Nora, let alone almost their entire childhood. But Ren thrived on being Nora's friend and partner. There was a sort of balance with him being the calm, collected person he was and her being the fiery, energetic warrior she was.

_And yet, you still can't tell her how you really feel, _he thought to himself. The truth was that Ren saw Nora as much more than a partner. Ever since they met in childhood, Ren had been harboring a crush on the orange-haired Valkyrie. He was certain that Nora felt the same way, as for the last few years of their life, the two seemed to be inseparable. Nora always wanted to be by Ren's side, whether it was sitting in class or teaming up against an Ursa Major as they did in their last combat test. But even though he was certain that Nora shared the same feelings, neither her nor him had decided to cross the boundary from being just friends to becoming a couple, or, as Nora liked to put it, "together-together".

He finally caught up to his teammate, who was transfixed by a flashing game. It was a strongman game, the kind where the player tests their strength by using a heavy hammer to strike a target, using that force to try and force a peg up the board to ring a bell at the top. The man running the game was heavily tattooed, and had a wicked handlebar mustache.

"Step right up, test your strength!" the man said in a slightly nasally voice. He looked at Ren. "Maybe win something for the lady, young man?"

Nora was shaking with excitement. "REN! I WANT THAT ONE!" She pointed to the very top of the prize board, where a giant stuffed animal hung.

Ren squinted up to get a better look. "It looks like some sort of cat."

Nora glanced back at Ren, turquoise eyes wide with excitement. "You mean, like a puma?"

Ren looked confused. "What's a puma?"

Nora shrugged. "I dunno, I just heard of it once!" She turned back to the game operator. "What do I have to do to get that one?"

The man smiled. "Well, to win that one you've got to get the peg all the way to the top on one swing! Three tries for 5 Lien! But you might want to let your boyfriend swing for you. He's looks a bit stronger."

Nora blushed and Ren cringed. Not only did the man insult Nora's strength, he inadvertently paired the two as a couple. Ren glanced at Nora. Fury didn't even begin to describe the look on her face.

"Okay, FIRST of all, we're not 'together-together', she said, thumbing back at Ren. She pulled a 5 Lien bill out of her pocket and slapped it into the man's hand. "SECOND of all, I can do this myself. And THIRD of all…!" Nora grasped the hammer and prepared to swing. Ren chuckled to himself, taking out his scroll to get a capture of the face this man was about to make.

Nora brought the hammer down with the strength and ferociousness that only a Beacon Huntress-in-training could provide. "NORA SMASH!" she screamed, as she struck the target, and sent the peg flying up with such force, it struck the bell at the top with a resounding GONG before the entire bell blew off the top of the board.

The operator was stunned speechless. Nora smiled and set the hammer down and walked over to the man.

"And fourth of all….you owe me that Puma up there, she chirped with a satisfied smirk on her face.

The man, still speechless, got up and retrieved Nora's hard-won prize. "THANK YOU!" she squealed, as she skipped away. Ren came up to the man. "Just so you know, that there is Nora Valkyrie, a Huntress-in-training at Beacon Academy. Her weapon a combo Dust-grenade launcher which transforms into a war hammer. Don't let yourself get too down because she beat you." As Ren walked away, he could hear the man mutter to himself, "Man, that girl is strong as dicks!" The bell, just now returning to the ground, struck him on the head with a loud _clang._

* * *

><p>Ren caught up to Nora. She was looking out over the midway, staring at the sights. "That was pretty awesome, what you did back there."<p>

Nora looked back at Ren, glee in her eyes. "Really? You really think so?"

Ren smiled. "Absolutely. His reaction was priceless."

Nora giggled. Her expression suddenly softened a little, as she turned to Ren. "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot back there. I said we weren't 'together-together' and that we were just together, and…" Nora trailed off.

Ren blushed a little. "Well about that…"

Ren looked at Nora, but her attention was focused elsewhere. "Uh, Nora? Are you there?"

"SHUSH!" Nora said, and pointed to an area outside the carnival walls. "Do you see what I see?"

Ren strained his vision, and spotted what Nora was talking about. Three men, armed with what looked like rifles, were running towards a back section of the wall.

"We need to stop them! Nora said, as she took off running back the way they had come.

"But we don't have weapons!" Ren cried.

* * *

><p>The strongman operator was still shaking off the blow to his head when he heard someone shout "HEY!"<p>

He cringed as the freakishly strong Valkyrie girl came stalking up to the booth. "I need to borrow your hammer." She said, as she snatched up the heavy cudgel. "I'll bring it back, I promise!"

Nora turned to Ren. "You might not have a weapon," she smirked, as she spun the hammer in her hands, "but I DO!"


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey guys, I'm back! I apologize for being a little late on this chapter, but other things distracted me from finishing this on time. However, this chapter is the longest chapter yet, and has got plenty of action, so I think you all will like it! As always, read, review, judge, share, whatever! This story has over 60 follows and 40 favorites! Not bad for someone who just started to write as a way to kill time during the RWBY hiatus. So thanks to you all! Enjoy the new chapter!**

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><p>"How are we looking, Ray?" Michael asked, as he and Gavin began to prep the charges for the wall.<p>

Ray was watching for guards. "Looks clear for the moment. Hurry up and blow the wall while we have a window!"

The three thieves had set their plan into motion 5 minutes earlier. Each man was carrying a rifle. Ray and Gavin also had their red-bladed swords, while Michael had his hatchet. Ray acquired a small sedan to use as a getaway vehicle and positioned it at the edge of the makeshift parking lot at the carnival entrance. He then hurried to rejoin the other two near the far wall. Gavin, who was actually pretty good at imitating a Beowolf, created a distraction that drew the guards away from the section of wall closest to the Lien storeroom. Michael estimated they had maybe another minute before they realized there was no Grimm threat and returned to their posts.

Gavin stuck the explosives onto the cinderblock. "Charges are set, guys! Get clear so I can blow it!"

All three men moved back and donned their masks. None of them were too worried about being identified. Junior never really took down the information of the people who worked as his goons, so they weren't really worried about retaliation from him. However, it was best to cover their tracks.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Gavin cried, as he hit the detonator. The charges blew with a roar, and the wall crumbled to dust.

Michael readied his rifle, as Ray did the same. "LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLETS HIEST!" he cried, as he rushed through the hole in the wall. Michael followed behind.

The interior of the room was a mess. Four guards lay on the ground, unconscious by the blast. The table was stacked with easily thousands of Lien.

"YEAH BOI!" Michael exclaimed. This was it, the score of a lifetime. "Gavin, Ray, start stuffing the bags with as much Lien as you can carry. We leave this room in two minutes. I'll keep watch by the door. Gavin, how much ammo do we have for these rifles?"

Gavin, who was loading Lien into one of the bags, stiffened and froze. He slowly turned to Michael and said with a nervous chuckle, "Well, uh, about that…"

* * *

><p><em>A few minutes earlier…<em>

"Nora, wait!" Ren tried to keep up with his partner, who moved with purpose towards where she saw the armed men.

"Can't talk, baddies to stop!" the Valkyrie sang cheerfully. "Besides, we're not unarmed anymore!

She was right. Ren had been able to acquire a pair of paintball guns from a nearby booth, and, after apologizing profusely to the booth operator and promising to return them, rushed to catch up with Nora. He would have preferred to have Stormflower with him instead, but, he had to admit, it sure beat being unarmed.

"We also don't know what we are up against," Ren added calmly. "Those men looked like professional criminals, so we need to be wise and careful with our actions."

Nora looked back at her partner, a grin on her face. "So what's our move, then?" she asked, hefting the hammer in her hands.

Ren gestured over towards a squat structure resting up against the far wall. "That's looks like an administrative building of sorts. There are probably guards inside. We'll go talk to them, explain the sit-"

Ren was cut off by the sound of an explosion as a plume of smoke and dust rose beyond the building they were moving towards. People started to scream and turned to run towards the carnival entrance.

"That blast came from that building!" Ren cried, readying his paintball guns. "Nora, make sure your Aura is up and take the right side! Whoever these people are, they'll have to come out this door. We'll ambush them here."

* * *

><p>Michael was mad.<p>

Not that he wasn't ever not mad. There were a lot of things that made him mad. Being one of Junior's disposable goons wasn't exactly a job that dealt in sunshine and rainbows. His companions sometimes even called him "Rage Quit" on account of how angry Michael sometimes got. But this time, Michael had a legitimate reason to be mad.

"YOU DIDN'T GRAB ANY EXTRA AMMO?!" he screamed at Gavin, trembling with fury. "HOW THE FUCK ARE WE SUPPOSED TO MAKE IT OUT OF HERE ALIVE WITH ONE MEASLY CLIP OF AMMO?"

"I'm sorry, Michael!" Gavin cried. "I only had time to check to see if the guns were loaded! I grabbed what I could and got out of there."

"YOU COULD HAVE LED OFF WITH THAT WHEN I ASKED YOU IF YOU GOT THE SUPPLIES!" Michael shot back, shaking with rage.

'GUYS!" Ray shouted as he glanced out the window of the storeroom, getting the other two's attention. "Michael, you can kill Gavin later. I'll even help, provided we survive long enough." He shot a look of disdain at Gavin, who was cowering in embarrassment. "Right now, we need to move. I don't see any security coming yet, and the carnival guests are all running for the exits. We need to use them as cover to get out of here!"

Michael started to compose himself, if only slightly. "Gav, Ray, grab the bags and let's fucking GO!" He strode to the door, rifle at the ready. He slowly opened it and stuck his head out. No one was visible. "Okay, let's move!"

The three stepped out and began to move towards the exit.

"**HEY!"**

* * *

><p>They slowly turned around towards the sound, and found a young girl in pink, with orange hair, wielding a large mallet.<p>

The girl had a wicked grin on her face. "Where do you think YOU'RE going?" she asked with a smirk.

Ray stepped forward. "You think you're gonna stop us?" he scoffed, clearly unimpressed. "You're just a little girl!"

"Well, not just her…" a voice came from behind. Gavin and Michael turned to this new voice, startled. A young man with black hair wearing a green shirt held a pair of paintball guns. He pointed one at Gavin, a look of calm focus on his face. "Drop your weapons and we won't harm you."

Gavin laughed. "You hear that, Michael? _'They won't harm us.'_ The little tosser's got some stones."

Michael glanced at the two teens. These two were trying to be heroes. He didn't care for do-gooders that much. "Well, last time I checked, girly," he said to the hammer-wielding ginger, "Bullets beat hammer." Michael raised his rifle and let off a burst in her direction.

"Nora!" Ren cried, but it turned out to be an unnecessary warning.

Nora grinned. She spun the hammer in her hands with grace, and blocked every shot with a burst of Aura.

Michael was stunned. _Those bullets should have chewed right through her!_ He then came to a realization: that these were no normal teens.

"They're more of those Beacon freaks!" he cried to Gavin and Ray. "We need to scatter!"

Ray and Gavin shared a glance of fear between them. They had both heard what both the red-hooded girl and the fiery blonde had done to Junior's men on previous occasions. If these two here were from the same academy as the others…

"Oh, screw this, I'm bailing!" Ray said, as he took off down the midway, sprinting away from the hammer girl. He looked ahead - his path looked clear - until the green clad boy moved in front of him.

"Nice try," Ren said with a small smile, "but you're not getting away that easy." Ray raised his rifle to fire at the boy, but Ren fired first. A barrage of expertly aimed paint balls struck Ray in his hands and arms, causing him to drop the rifle.

"AHH THAT HURTS!" Ray screamed, as he drew his sword. He began to advance on Ren, malice in his eyes. "I'm gonna cut you to pieces, kid." Ray growled. He rose his blade and swung at Ren, who blocked the strike with his pistols. Ren countered with a kick to Ray's knee, which caused him to cry out in pain. Ray sunk to the ground, hurt, but not out. He managed to land a blow on Ren's side with his blade, but Ren's Aura protected him. Ray was stunned. Ren looked down at him, and drew his fist back.

"NO! WAIT! I SURREND-"Ray tried to cry, before a punch from Ren knocked him out.

* * *

><p>Gavin was running down a pathway with carnival rides on either side of him. After Ray took off, he and Michael also split up as well. Gavin looked around for the two freak teenagers, but didn't see either of them. He slowed and allowed himself a breath relief<em>. I think I lost them,<em> he thought to himself. He started down a path that would lead him towards the exit, when a glittering ball of pink and white thudded from above.

Nora rose from her crouch and hefted her hammer. "You're a fast one, I'll give you that!" She chirped at Gavin, who started to back away. "But I got you now!"

Gavin raised his rifle and fired on full auto. Nora zipped back and forth, dodging every shot. Gavin's rifle clicked empty, so he threw it away and drew his blade. He ran towards Nora, sword slashing forward. Nora parried the blade with the shaft of the hammer, as Gavin continued to strike. He drove Nora backwards with his force, and managed to corner her against a booth, Nora blocking his blade with her hammer. "Got you now, you little girl." Gavin smirked.

Nora grinned. "Do you?" she said with a smile, as she shoved him back and spun the hammer downward, connecting with Gavin's left knee. A sickening crunch echoed thought the carnival, lasting microseconds before being replaced by Gavin screaming in pain.

"AHHHHHH BOLLOCKS!" Gavin screeched in agony. "YOU BROKE MY BLOODY LEG!" Gavin crumpled to the ground in pain, as he looked up at the crazy hammer girl. Nora was winding up for one final blow. "NO, WAI-"

'NORA SMASH!" she cried, as she swung the hammer in an upwards swing, connecting with Gavin's chest, sending him rocketing through the air, flying clear across the carnival.

* * *

><p>Michael was running through a maze of booths when he heard Gavin's wail. He looked up and saw his companion flying through the air, screeching like a Nevermore. "MIIIIIIICCCCCCCOOOOOO!" Gavin cried as he soared through the air, crashing into a booth on the far side of the carnival. Michael shook his head. This had gone far too wrong. He needed to escape with what he had so this wasn't a total loss. He started to run for the nearest exit.<p>

* * *

><p>Nora turned a corner and found Ren running towards her. "REN, I GOT ONE!" she chirped, hefting the hammer in her hands with a grin.<p>

Ren smiled. "Good work, Nora. I got one too. We need to find the third man though. We can't let him escape."

Nora frowned. "But this place is massive! We can't search for him alone!"

Ren nodded as he pulled out his scroll. "Agreed. I'm calling in some help."

* * *

><p><em>Before the explosion…<em>

Normally Jaune didn't like carnival rides, but a Ferris wheel wasn't exactly a roller coaster, so his motion sickness wasn't a factor here. But that wasn't to say he wasn't feeling queasy. He looked over at Pyrrha, who was seated next to him in the basket as the wheel began to rotate higher. _Just say it, idiot,_ his mind screamed at him. _Tell her! _

"Jaune, is everything okay?" Jaune snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. Pyrrha was staring at him expectedly. "Oh, uh yeah, everything is fine." He replied. "Uh, why do you ask?"

Pyrrha smiled. "Well, it's just that you've been staring at me all night."

_Oh crap,_ Jaune thought. _Think, think!_ "Uh, well, uh it's just that you are…pretty to look at…" Jaune cringed as soon as the words left his mouth, his face turning scarlet. _YOU IDIOT,_ his mind screamed.

Pyrrha was blushing as well. "You think I'm 'pretty to look at'?" she repeated Jaune's words, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Jaune panicked. "Uh, NO! I mean, yes, you ARE pretty, but, I mean, no, I wasn't looking at you like that, I mean….Jaune sighed_. You're in this deep,_ his mind spoke to him. _You might as well finish the charge._

Jaune swallowed. "Pyrrha, I have to tell you something."

Pyrrha's heart fluttered. "What is it, Jaune?" Emerald eyes met sapphire ones, as the wheel rotated their basket to the very top. The broken moon above illuminated everything. If one were to look out at the surrounding lands, one could see all of Vale, from the island of Patch to the edge of Forever Fall. But green stared into blue, and neither saw anything but each other.

Jaune breathed. "Pyrrha, I have been attracted to you ever since we became partners during initiation. You're beautiful, smart, incredibly strong, and you treated me with respect ever since we met. You've helped me increase my combat skills a hundredfold with our training, and I can't help but being head over heels for you."

Pyrrha's face shone in the moonlight. She sat and looked at the blonde knight, smiling. "Jaune, I'm happy to say that the feeling is mutual."

Jaune looked stunned. "R-really?"

"Yes, Jaune." Pyrrha's eyes sparkled with emotion. "Ever since I first saw you at Beacon, I'll admit that I had a bit of a crush on you. And when we became partners and started to train together, I became more infatuated with you. Everyone else here treats me as Pyrrha Nikos, Mistral Champion and famous untouchable athlete. But you treated me as a genuine person, and liked me for me, not my accomplishments. I guess, what I'm saying is, is that I'm glad that you like me back."

Jaune sighed with relief. "So, uh, where do we go from here?" he asked.

Pyrrha smiled and moved her face closer to Jaune's. "I'll show you." she replied, as she moved in. Jaune moved as well, and their lips were about to touch when they both heard an explosion.

Jaune raised his head and looked out towards the sound of the blast. A column of smoke and dust rose from a corner of the carnival. "What's happening? Is it a Grimm attack?"

Pyrrha squinted, trying to make out what was happening below. "I don't think so. I don't see anything…"

Gunfire echoed from the area of the blast. Jaune began to fidget, feeling trapped on the Ferris wheel. "We need to get down there! Someone might need help!" The wheel, if as it somehow heard Jaune's plea, began to spin back to the ground.

Pyrrha looked a bit restless as well. "We will need to find something to use as weapons before we charge into whatever is happening." she said.

Jaune nodded. "Agreed. Maybe one of the guards can oblige us. When we get down there, we can explain we are Beacon students, and we can help them…" Jaune started to ramble a bit as his mind went into mission planning mode.

Pyrrha looked on with a swell of pride. Jaune was taking the initiative and planning to be the hero he always wanted to be. Any lack of self-confidence he may have had left went sailing out the window.

_And he likes you!_ Her mind sang. _Like, really, really likes you! _She focused on the task at hand as the Ferris wheel finally spun them both down to ground level.

"We need to call Ren and Nora too." Pyrrha said to Jaune.

"Good idea," Jaune replied, pulling out his scroll. But before he could call Ren, he heard a scream. He looked up at the sound and saw a man flying through the air, bellowing as he soared across the carnival.

"What the…"Jaune muttered, as his scroll beeped with an incoming call. He pulled it out and answered. "Hello?"

"Jaune! Where are you and Pyrrha? We need backup!" Ren cried through the device.

"We are next to the Ferris wheel. Ren, what's happening? We saw an explosion-"

"No time for the full details!" Ren interrupted. "Short version is, me and Nora disrupted a group of thugs robbing the carnival owners! We stopped two of them, but the last one got away from us. He's heading for the exit now, using the crowds as cover. He's in a black suit and has a rifle. Can you head him off?"

"Yeah, we're on it! Jaune said as he looked at Pyrrha, who heard every word, and nodded. We're moving towards the exit now. We'll get him."

"Nora and I are on our way up to you. Ren out." The call ended. Jaune and Pyrrha started to run to the front of the carnival. Pyrrha paused on the way to scoop up a long section of pole, tapered to a point at one end. "What's that for?" Jaune asked as they continued to run.

Pyrrha grinned. "Well, it's not Milo," referring to her spear, which was back at Beacon, "but I can use this the same way."

Jaune nodded in understanding. His sword and shield were also at Beacon, so he needed to find something he could use in the interim. _Okay, gotta improvise…_ He saw a booth selling carved wooden goods and strode over to it. He came back hefting a large hardwood sword. _A toy, but deadly in the right hands,_ he thought and smiled at his partner. "Okay, let's go!

The two took off running again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again! So, yeah, I'm like SUPER LATE with this chapter. I blame many things. Writer's block, school, inspiration for other stories but not this one, the release of the RWBY Volume 2 Soundtrack (BTW, HOLY SHIT! **Love, love LOVE the soundtrack, especially "Boop" and "Dream Come True" . **Jeff and Casey are shipping Arkos and SlothFlower so hard, they should work for FedEx!) and just general chaos. But, I managed to pull together, and basically bring this story to a point in this chapter. I'll do one more chapter to close it out (which will probably come later this week) which will wrap up the story completely. After that, I'll do a piece for this month's /r/RWBY Fanfiction MonCon over on the RWBY subreddit, and then I'll turn my attention back to my new RWBY/Halo crossover, RWBY: A New Breed of SPARTAN. I really hope you like what I have in store! As always, read, like, hate, criticize, share, and LOVE! Thanks again!**

**PS: I've been told the correct name for the RenxNora ship is SlothFlower, not Renora, so I'll do my best to refer to it correctly from now on.**

* * *

><p>Michael was screwed.<p>

_One thing, I asked those fucking idiots to do one thing,_ he thought to himself, as he scrambled between the booths, checking for that freaky girl with the hammer and her green clad friend.

Now Ray and Gavin were out of commission. Michael looked at the one bag of Lien he managed to snag before he took off. It held several thousand, easy. _A decent enough take,_ he thought, _if only I can make it out of here…_

He looked ahead. He had made it to the front of the carnival. Patrons continued to stream out, but Michael didn't see either of the two Beacon freaks. He sighed as he began to walk towards the exit. _Looks like I'm home free…_

Two people stepped in front of Michael. One was an athletic red-hair girl holding a length of pole, the other was a lanky blonde-haired boy holding a wooden sword.

"We'll give you one chance to surrender quietly." The girl said, brandishing the pole in her hands like a spear. "Put down the rifle and whatever you stole, and we won't hurt you."

Michael didn't recognize the blonde kid, but even he knew who the redhead was. Michael had placed illegal bets on the Mistral Regional Tournament before, so he knew exactly who four time champion Pyrrha Nikos was. He also knew where she now attended school.

"DAMN BEACON FREAKS!" Michael howled, as he lifted his rifle and opened fire at Pyrrha. The Amazon spun the pole in her hand and blocked the rounds with ease. Michael screamed in frustration and took the small hatchet off his belt. He chucked it at the blonde kid, but didn't wait to see if it would connect. Michael turned and took off into the maze of booths, desperate to find a way out. The pole that Pyrrha was holding whizzed past him, the sharp point embedding into a wooden support beam. "Fuck this!" he cried, as he took off.

* * *

><p>Jaune deflected the hatchet with ease. He looked up to find the thug fleeing into the forest of booths. He saw Pyrrha chuck her makeshift spear after him, but he managed to dodge it, running deeper into the carnival. "Dust, I missed him!" Pyrrha groused, a humorless smile tugging her lips.<p>

Jaune was preparing to give chase when he saw Nora and Ren running towards them. "Did ya get him?" Nora cried, bounding up to her team leader.

Jaune shook his head. "No, he fled deeper into the carnival. Pyrrha and I are going to go after him. Can you and Ren stay here and guard the exit?"

Nora raised her hand to her forehead in a mock salute. "YES SIR, FEARLESS LEADER!" she crowed. Ren rolled his eyes with a smile.

Jaune nodded, and turned as he and Pyrrha took off after the thug. Pyrrha paused to wrench the pole out of the wood beam as she passed.

* * *

><p>Nora sighed happily as she turned to Ren. <em>He's so handsome,<em> she thought, her face relaxing into a dreamy state. _Yet I can't just say the words. Every time I want to say "I love you", I either chicken out or say some other nonsense, like "Boop" or something…_ The black-haired lotus boy looked back and smiled. Ren noticed the lines of thought wrinkled on Nora's face. "Something on your mind, Nora?"

Nora snapped out of her thoughts. _Well, right now might be the best time._ "Ren, what do you think of me?

Ren stuttered for a second, taken aback by the apparent suddenness of Nora's question. "Uh, uh, what do you mean?"

Nora turned to Ren, her face all serious now. "I mean, how do you feel about me? I mean, we've been together for soooo long, and while I always say we're not , you know, 'together-together', but in my mind I always kinda thought we could be 'together-together'. I mean, I always thought you were handsome, and, well, I don't know, I always hoped you thought I was pretty in return…" Nora started to ramble. Ren put his finger up to Nora's lips, effectively silencing her.

"Nora, I've loved you ever since we were young. Every day we've been friends I always thought myself to be one of the luckiest boys in Remnant to have someone as energetic and pretty as you by my side. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be with."

Nora's heart soared. "D-do you really mean it, Ren? You want to be 'together-together?"

Ren moved in. Time seemed to slow as he took Nora in his arms. "Yes, Nora. I want us to be together-together."

And he proved it by pulling Nora into a deep kiss.

What seemed like eons but in reality was only seconds, they broke apart. Nora, her face flushed with color, giggled and hugged Ren tight. "I love you, Lie Ren," she whispered.

Ren smiled down at her and returned the hug. "And I love you too, Nora Valkyrie."

The two stood in each other's arms for a few more seconds. Ren raised his head and looked around. "Uh, Nora?

"Yes, Ren?" Nora replied, still snuggled close to Ren.

"We should probably return our attention to the task at hand."

"Oh. Yeah. Right." Nora gasped and pulled away from Ren, hefting her borrowed hammer. _Well, now that the trivial stuff is out of the way,_ she thought as she glanced admiringly at Ren one more time_, its back to business._

* * *

><p>Jaune peeked into a booth to find it empty. He sighed explosively. This creep had to be hiding here somewhere. Unfortunately, the now empty carnival provided plenty of place for someone to stay hidden.<p>

Jaune looked over at Pyrrha, who was clearing another booth. She looked back and shook her head.

"This is hopeless," Jaune said, as he proceeded to move further down the row of booths. "This guy's just gonna stay under wraps until we either leave or pass him up. Searching each booth is gonna take a while-"

A sound of metal crashing sounded from a food stand a few hundred feet away. Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other and grinned. They moved towards the sound, hunters converging on prey.

* * *

><p><em>DUST FUCKING DAMN IT!<em> Michael thought to himself. He had taken cover in an abandoned kebab stand, hoping that the two do-gooders would pass him up. But his foot accidentally knocked over a stack of pans, which basically was like ringing the dinner bell. He looked around for something, anything, which he could use to his advantage. His eyes settled on a gas tank set against the far wall. Michael's eyes flared. He kicked the valve on the tank and gas started to hiss out.

* * *

><p>Jaune and Pyrrha approached the kebab shack. Jaune motioned for Pyrrha to circle around to the rear of the shack, while he moved to the front. She nodded, and began to creep along the wall.<p>

Jaune got closer to the shack, and was almost to the window when a blur in a black suit jumped out. Jaune began to turn to engage the thug, but stopped when he noticed a strong smell of sulfur. He looked into the shack and saw the broken gas tank.

"So long, freaks!" Michael yelled, as he produced a lighter from his pocket. He flicked it open and chucked it towards the stand. He turned and dove into a nearby booth.

"PYRRHA, LOOK OUT!" Jaune had time to yell a warning to his partner, who managed to activate her Aura just before the shack detonated in a ball of concussive fire. Even though both Jaune and Pyrrha were protected, the blast sent them flying away.

Michael emerged from cover. He saw Pyrrha lying prone on the ground, knocked down but still intact. _Damn, what does it take to finish these guys,_ his mind screamed. Michael reached into his suit pocket. He only had one more card to play in this fight. He produced a fist sized Burn Dust crystal, enough concentrated energy to incinerate a hundred-yard swath of carnival. He grinned, as Pyrrha looked at him, recognized what was in his hand, and visibly flinched in fear.

"Let's see you dodge this, you Beacon freak!" Michael hissed. He threw the crystal towards the still prone Pyrrha, and took careful aim with his rifle.

* * *

><p>Jaune emerged from the booth the blast had flung into. His mind raced and slowed as he processed the situation. Pyrrha was down and vulnerable. That thug was about to detonate a dust crystal. Unacceptable.<p>

Jaune felt himself surge with Aura as he sprinted over to his partner.

The sequence of events that followed seemed to play out one frame at a time. Michael fired a round from his rifle. The bullet flew in the air on an intersect path to the Dust crystal. Pyrrha curled into a ball, flaring what Aura she had left to try to protect herself from the inevitable blast. Suddenly, a blonde-headed blur appeared in between Pyrrha and the crystal. With a mighty yell, Jaune surged his Aura, and a white flash of energy appeared, as the bullet connected with the falling crystal, triggering a roaring detonation.

* * *

><p>Nora and Ren felt the concussive blast all the way from the front entrance where they stood. Ren looked and saw a cloud of red smoke billow in the distance. "Jaune and Pyrrha are in trouble," he cried. Ren took off towards his teammates, Nora right behind him.<p>

* * *

><p>Michael picked himself off the ground, brushing himself clear of dust and rubble. The blast was larger than he had expected. He was lucky he didn't catch the full force of it. Well, at least I finally beat those freaks, he thought, as the dust began to settle.<p>

Michael frowned. There appeared to be shadows in the dust cloud. He strained his vision, trying to make out the shapes. His eyes widened in horror. "OH YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!"

Pyrrha, who had shut her eyes before the blast, opened them to find herself and Jaune encased in a glowing half-sphere of white Aura. Jaune stood, unfazed by the result of the Dust explosion. He stared at Michael, rage in his eyes.

Michael stepped back in fear. "W-wha…w-who ARE you?" he stammered.

Jaune advanced on Michael, wooden sword clenched in his fist. "My name is Jaune Arc. I'm a Huntsman in training at Beacon Academy. I'm the leader of Team JNPR. And _you_," Jaune added, as his body began to flare white, "just messed with the wrong team."

Jaune let out a battle cry as he charged Michael, blazing white energy surging through his body.

Michael screamed as he unloaded the remaining rounds in his rifle, but they did nothing to faze Jaune. He held the rifle up in front of him in a feeble attempt to block Jaune's strike. Jaune channeled his Aura into the wooden blade, and glowed white-hot as it came down in a devastating blow. The blade neatly bisected Michael's rifle, and the force of the strike sent Michael flying backwards, crashing through five booths.

And landing at the feet of an orange-haired, hammer wielding Valkyrie.

"OOH, REN, THIS IS THE GUY!" Nora screeched. "OOH, CAN I BREAK HIS LEGS?"

"I don't see why not" Ren replied, moving to her side.

"NOPE!" Michael screamed, crab walking backwards, desperate to get away from the crazy girl. But he was far too late.

The hammer descended as a symphony of cracking bones and screams of pure agony echoed across the carnival.

* * *

><p>Jaune dropped his sword and rushed to Pyrrha's side. "Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling down next to his teammate.<p>

Pyrrha groaned as she rolled on her side. She looked at Jaune. "Yes, I think I'm fine." She smiled. "I see you've discovered your Semblance."

Jaune nodded, the worry on his face replaced with relief. "All thanks to our training together."

Pyrrha stared at Jaune's handsome face. "Y-you saved my life," she stammered, a slight blush on her face.

Jaune was blushing a little himself. "Ah, well, you know, you're, ah, worth saving."

He helped Pyrrha to her feet. Jaune realized that he and Pyrrha were very close to each other. They shared a look, emerald eyes meeting sapphire ones. Their faces grew closer…

"JUST KISS HER, YOU IDIOT!"

"Nora!"

Jaune and Pyrrha jumped in shock. They turned and saw Nora and Ren watching the two. Ren smiled. "Sorry about that. But Nora has a point. Just do it already!"

Jaune looked back at Pyrrha. She raised an eyebrow, emerald eyes sparkling, in a look that said one thing: _now or never._

Jaune dipped Pyrrha and mashed his lips against hers in a passionate embrace that was long, _long _overdue.

_Finally,_ they both thought, as they enjoyed the moment.

"Uh, guys?"

Jaune and Pyrrha broke apart, slightly irritated. "Can it wait, Ren? Kinda busy here…" Jaune said, as Pyrrha let out a small giggle.

Ren pointed behind them. "I was just thinking we might have some explaining to do…"

Jaune and Pyrrha turned to see carnival security rushing towards them, weapons at the ready.

"Oh, right." Jaune said, hand behind his head in embarrassment, as the guards demanded that they drop their weapons. "That."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! I am truly sorry for posting the final chapter so late! I had finals to wrap up, Christmas shopping to do, and all sorts of loose ends to tie up before the holiday. But here it is, the last chapter for my first ever long fanfic. I just want to say, the support I've gotten has been awesome. I originally started writing just for fun, just to kill time during the RWBY hiatus, but now, with all the people that seem to like my work, I'm finding more reasons to keep writing! So now that this story is wrapped up, I will return to my RWBY/Halo crossover, RWBY: A New Breed of SPARTAN. I hopefully will have a new chapter for that within the next two weeks. Once again, thank you all so much, and I hope you enjoy the conclusion!**

* * *

><p>Within the next 30 minutes, things at the carnival began to return to normal. Security worked its way through the now deserted carnival, checking for any damage, injuries, or any other problems. The fires started by the exploding Dust crystal were extinguished before they could spread. Paramedics arrived and treated the few patrons hurt in the panicked evacuation, as well as the three thugs.<p>

"My leg….the bloody woman broke my leg…" Gavin moaned, as the medics wheeled his gurney to the back of the ambulance. Ray, still unconscious, was attended to by another pair of medics.

"SHUT UP, GAVIN!" Michael roared from the gurney next to him. "That freak broke BOTH my legs! You have no room to bitch!" _This day couldn't get any worse,_ Michael thought, as the gurney was lifted into the ambulance.

"HEY! Look what we got here, partner! Coupla wise guys!"

Michael lifted his head off the gurney to see two men in white shirts and black slacks waiting for him and Gavin inside the ambulance. One had a messy haircut and had a smirk on his face. The other wore suspenders, had a thin beard and wore aviator sunglasses. His lips curled in a snarl as he chewed on a toothpick. Metal glinted on their chests: Vale Police badges.

"Aww hell, they're cops," Michael muttered.

"You bet yer ass we're cops!" the bearded one shouted in a thick accent. "I'm Burnie, and that over there is my partner, Joel!" He thumbed over towards the other man. "We're detectives with Vale PD. I think it time for us to get to know each other a little better…"

Michael and Gavin groaned in unison as the doors to the ambulance were shut.

* * *

><p>Team JNPR sat on crates in the parking lot while cleanup continued around them. Apart from some slight fatigue, everyone was fine. In fact, if one had witnessed the events of the past 30 minutes or so, one would say that the lives of JNPR's members were perfect.<p>

Nora snuggled against Ren's side, sighing happily. Her arms wrapped around him so tight it reminded Jaune of a sloth grasping a tree branch. Ren stroked her orange hair and smiled calmly. Jaune gazed at the couple and raised an eyebrow a Ren. The lotus boy looked at Jaune and gave him a slight nod, as wrapped his arm around the pink Valkyrie to return the hug.

Jaune returned the nod and focused on Pyrrha next to him. The athletic Mistralian smiled as she gazed upon the blonde's face. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey yourself." Jaune replied. He wrapped his arm around her. "Sorry I didn't…you know…make this happen sooner."

Pyrrha smiled and smooched Jaune on the lips. "No worries." She laid her head on Jaune's shoulder, as he slowly caressed her fiery red hair_. I'm one lucky guy._ Jaune thought to himself. _Stupid and stubborn, but also lucky._

"Excuse me, Mr. Arc?" Jaune snapped out of his reprieve. A Vale police officer was standing over the group. "I just wanted to tell you all that we have the criminals in custody. They were seriously injured, but they will all make it." The officer looked at Nora as he spoke.

Nora giggled a bit. "Well, I _did_ say I would break their legs…"

"Nora, be nice." Ren said.

"Anyways," the officer continued, "the carnival grounds are open again if any of you had any belongings to retrieve from inside. Also, Beacon staff has been notified of your efforts here, and someone is on their way to commend you and bring you back to the Academy grounds."

Nora stiffened and shot up in shock. "REN! We have to go back in there! I forgot something important!" She took off back into the carnival, borrowed hammer in hand. Ren ran after her, crying for her to slow down.

* * *

><p>The mustached strongman was finally allowed to go back inside the carnival to check on his booth. He arrived to find it mercifully untouched from the chaos of the Dust explosion, apart from some minor debris. He took down the barrier of cones that the cleanup crew had set up and began to knock the dust off the stuffed animals that hung on the prize board. As he worked, he noticed one of the stuffed animals lying on the ground. He walked over to investigate.<p>

He picked it up. It was the huge puma that crazy orange-haired girl had won when she had broken the bell off the top of his game. _Weird,_ he thought. _She was clinging to this thing like a thing possessed. Funny that she left it here-_

His thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. "OOOOOHHHH! THERE IT IS!"

The strongman turned to see a glittering ball of pink rushing him. He threw the stuffed puma up in the air and grabbed the nearest hard object in defense. "PROTECT ME, CONE!" he cried out, holding it in front of him like a shield.

Nora ran up and dropped the hammer in front of the cowering man. "THANKS FOR SAVING MY PUMA!" she chirped, as she scooped up the stuffed animal and skipped away.

* * *

><p>Jaune and Pyrrha now sat alone in the parking lot. They waited for whichever teacher that was coming from Beacon to retrieve them. Jaune expected it to be Professor Goodwitch, which had him worried. Even though Team JNPR didn't break any rules by coming to the carnival that night, Jaune was certain Goodwitch would be furious about the way they had conducted themselves, even if they had disrupted a heist. Pyrrha noticed the worry lines crease her team leader's brow. <em>Correction, boyfriend's,<em> she thought with a smile. "Jaune, is everything okay?" she asked.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha. "Oh, yeah! Everything is great. Just thinking about the reaction Goodwitch or Ozpin will have when they hear of all this. Even though what we did was right, I can't help but think they'll be upset about us sort of wrecking a carnival in the process."

"Actually, it's quite the opposite, Mr. Arc."

Jaune and Pyrrha jumped in shock of the sudden male voice behind them. The turned to find a tall gray-haired man wearing spectacles and wielding a cane in one hand. "Professor Ozpin!" Jaune stammered in surprise. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I was actually already in Vale this evening. The defense groups on the kingdom wall were dealing with a particularly large infestation of Grimm, so I offered my assistance to help cull their numbers. I received word over the police scanners that a crime was taking place on the outskirts of Vale and Beacon students were involved with the apprehension of the criminals. So, naturally, I came as fast as I could to see how I could assist. I will say, however, it is a refreshing change of pace to hear of an incident involving Beacon students that are _not_ part of Team RWBY."

Jaune sighed in relief. "So, we're not in trouble?"

Ozpin smiled. "No Mr. Arc. In fact, I wish to commend you and your team. You successfully used your training to thwart a crime in progress, and, from what I've heard from the reports, also protected your team from serious harm. I must say I'm particularly impressed by your abilities, Mr. Arc. Your training with Miss Nikos is clearly paying off.

Jaune looked surprised. He thought no one outside of Teams JNPR and RWBY knew that Jaune and Pyrrha trained together. Ozpin noticed the look and chuckled. "Yes, I am aware of your private sessions. As long as you continue to improve, I have no issues with them continuing, as long as neither of you seriously damage the roof. "

Ozpin leaned closer to Jaune, and said so that only he could hear. "I would do what you can to stay as close to Miss Nikos as possible, Mr. Arc. You two share a strong bond, in more ways than just being teammates."

Jaune blushed slightly. "Yes s-sir. I understand."

Ozpin straightened himself. "Excellent. Now I suppose we should get you and your team back to Beacon. I'm sure you all wish to tell your friends about your adventurous night."

Ozpin stopped and looked around, only seeing Jaune and Pyrrha. "However, where are Mr. Ren and Miss Valkyrie?"

Jaune was about to answer, when he heard someone shout, "HEY, LOOK WHAT I GOT!"

Jaune looked around and spotted Nora approaching. The pink Valkyrie grinned with glee, clutching a huge stuffed animal in one arm, and dragged Ren behind her in the other.

I wonder how she won that. Jaune mused. He gestured at the the giant stuffed animal. "What's that?"

Nora raised her prize int her leader's face. "It's a puma!

Jaune creased his brow in confusion. "What in Remnant is a puma?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Beacon Academy Cafeteria, the next day… <strong>_

"SO! There we were, fighting tons of bad guys!"

"There were only three of them."

"They had us surrounded!"

"We set up an ambush on _them._"

But they were no match for us! Ren knocked one of them out in one punch, and I sent another on flying across the carnival!"

Ruby and Yang, who were listening to Nora's story with rapt attention, glanced towards Ren as a gauge as to how much Nora was exaggerating the story. Weiss, who wasn't really listening, had also heard the last bit, and raised an eyebrow skeptically. Blake sat there as well, reading instead of listening.

Ren chuckled as he sipped his tea. "That part is actually true."

"Wow!" Ruby cried. "That is sooo cool…"

"Yeah, yeah, 'beat up bad guys, save the day', cool stuff," Yang said, wanting to move the conversation along. "But I want to hear about the other big news! Namely, how Vomit Boy here finally got together with Pyrrha!"

The focus of the group centered on the blonde and the redhead, who sat on the end of the table. Jaune, who was busy staring into Pyrrha's green eyes, realized that all of Team RWBY, even Blake, was staring at them. "Uhh, what?"

"You two are finally, FINALLY a couple!" Ruby squealed in happiness.

Jaune looked confused. "Wait, you guys knew I liked Pyrrha?"

Yang groaned as Weiss and Blake both face palmed at the blonde boy's apparent cluelessness. "Yes, Jaune, we all knew!" Yang replied. We were all waiting to see who would make the first move, if at all! So tell us, what happened?"

Jaune chuckled nervously. "Well, uh it kind just happened." He yelped in pain as Pyrrha slugged him on the shoulder.

"Jaune told me his feelings for me while we were on the Ferris wheel," Pyrrha said, prompting a group of _awws_ from Ruby and Yang, "and later, when one of the thugs threatened to blow me up with a Dust crystal, Jaune used his Aura to deflect the blast away from me. He saved my life." Pyrrha leaned over and kissed the blonde knight.

"D'awww that's sooo cuuuuuute!" Yang grinned.

"Hey, Ren and I are together now too!" Nora exclaimed, drawing the group's attention back to her.

Blake looked up from her book. "Weren't you two already together?"

Nora beamed. "Yep! But now we are 'together-together'!" She planted a huge kiss on Ren's cheek.

Jaune smiled as he watched his friends laugh and chat. He looked out the window. It was a beautiful Saturday at Beacon Academy. Was there anything more perfect?

He turned to look at Pyrrha, whose face shone with beauty. Jaune decided that yes, there was indeed something more perfect. He grabbed her close and kissed her again.


End file.
